Free the Land: Black Histories of Environmental Racism

Black history is inextricable from the study and discussion of environmental racism and environmental justice in the United States. Environmental racism is defined by Dr. Robert Bullard ("the Father of Environmental Justice") as "any policy, practice or directive that differentially affects or disadvantages (where intended or unintended) individuals, groups or communities based on race." This course expands and illuminates this definition through examinations of watershed moments - from the Transatlantic Slave Trade to struggles in the Greater St. Louis area today - in which Black communities bear the deadly brunt of toxic fumes, poisoned groundwater, nuclear waste, perilous disaster work, land theft, and the slow violence of biological extermination. Throughout the semester, we will read scholarly texts, engage primary sources, analyze popular and independent media, and study testimony and self published materials from Black activists.
Course Attributes: EN S; BU BA; AS SSC; AS SC

Free the Land: Black Histories of Environmental Racism

AFRICAN AND AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDIES 288

Section 01